Please someone open decent Thai in West town

Will someone PLEASE open a decent Thai restaurant on the West side? Thai Aree and Spoon are just too far of a drive to satisfy my Thai cravings.

May I suggest somewhere near the intersection of Chicago and Western? Bite, Black Beetle, and Feed are all doing fine here and rent is still affordable. If you keep your prices down, you will have plenty of neighborhood folk and hipsters to fill your tables, and if your delivery area includes Wicker Park and Bucktown you will make a killing.

I would settle for (and frequent) a place that could make a decent Pad Thai. The versions from Thai Village, Thai Lagoon, Luc Thang, and Zen Noodle are horrible (haven't tried Pot Pan or Thai Castle but I haven't heard good things). I feel it's a crime to ruin this simple dish that is the gateway to the wonderful flavors of Thai cuisine. It's my ultimate comfort food.

If I am uninformed, please advise. I agree that the Thai beef salad from Thai Village is very good and I love the Malay Charred Noodles at Zen. Thai Lagoon has gone way downhill in my opinion. I am going to steer towards the Vietnamese options at Luc Thang. Otherwise, I feel there is a void that is in dire need of filling in our westside neighborhoods.

Luc Thang's only good for their Vietnamese options. Avoid the entree listing. They also do a decent, if sweet, laab kai.

And while you're at it, add a good Korean, a decent Indian/Pakistani, and a genuine Vietnamese restaurant. Seriously.

OMG, good Indian would be a home run in these parts. If I want rice noodles, etc., I'll make them myself (and don't mind the after-work trek to Chinatown all that much) but to take two buses to get to Devon? Unthinkable. And think: maybe a fourth, a third of the locals are vegetarian.

That's all that's left on my wish list. That and a clean, well-lighted place for coffee that's open past 10 PM.

Charley Thai on Armitage just reopened.

When I lived on Chicago Ave I found that Thai Castle was fine when the wife had a pregnancy craving for Pad Thai or Panang Curry.

fyi: Thai Castle has the distinction of being the worst Thai I've ever had in Chicago. I tried it once because it got uniformly grand reviews. Feh. I've tried to block it from my mind.

Thanks for the info on Charley Thai re-opening. I tried their pad thai last night and it was pretty good. Husband tried the curry, he was undecided as to whether Thai Village curry was better or not. I wish Charley was a bit closer to where I live, but it's better than driving to Spoon or Aree.

Pot Pan has some excellent soups, particularly the Tom Kha and Tom Yum. They give you the biggest bang for the buck, $2.75 for a bowl of soup big enough for a meal. Most of their food is really good in fact, and the Pad Thai is more than servicable.

Thai Village has a great lunch special. For $5.95, you get an appetizer (Crab Rangoon, House Salad, Cucumber Salad), a great cup of soup, and a really good entree (I love the Basil Ground Chicken or the Red Curry Chicken).

Opart Thai has a place in the South Loop on 19th & State. I haven't been there yet, but if its half as good as the one on Western, it would be worth the trip from West Town.



Pot Pan
1362 N. Milwaukee
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 862-6990

Thai Village
2053 W Division St
Chicago, IL 60622-3157
Phone: (773) 384-5352

I've eaten at Thalia Spice a few times and found it to be a solid neighborhood choice. The BYOB option is also nice. I haven't had the sushi there, but other comments on the board were positive regarding sushi. Service is quite good and the room is nice too. http://www.thaliaspice.com/